Osnabrück: Diversity as a strategy.

The third largest city in Lower Saxony focuses on medicine + healthcare, transport + logistics and technology + innovation. The healthcare industry is the most important employer in the region but suppliers to the automobile industry are also a key sector. The food industry and agricultural technology provide additional significant players.

The competence field medicine + healthcare is represented in the district of Osnabrück above all by the healthcare and food sectors.

More than 14 percent of all employees work either directly or indirectly in the healthcare economy, i.e. in the "white industry". The Osnabrück region has exceptional strength in ophthalmology, heart surgery, oral and maxillo-facial surgery and radiotherapy.

The food industry is a core area of the regional economy, highly competitive and with above average employment growth. As well as strong agricultural production, the region has developed a highly qualified food processing industry with a wide range of up- and downstream services. It is also setting standards in research, for example at the University of Osnabrück and the German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL).

Due to its excellent geographical location for transportation at the intersection on the Rhine/Ruhr – Bremen – Hamburg and Amsterdam – Hannover – Berlin axes, Osnabrück plays a major role in the competence fields transport + logistics and automobile and vehicle construction and is one of the most important locations for logistics/traffic in North-West Germany. So it is only natural that well-known freight forwarders such as Hellmann Worldwide Logistics or Meyer & Meyer have their headquarters in the city. The competence centre LOGIS.NET at the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences is involved in practically-oriented research projects and implementing innovative logistics concepts.

Suppliers to the automobile industry are also a key sector for the Osnabrück area. They provide work for around 15,000 people, mostly in the engineering sector. As well as major companies such as Volkswagen Osnabrück or ZF Friedrichshafen AG in Lemförde, there are many small and medium-sized companies active in the areas of interior equipment, body construction, prototype and tool construction both in and around Osnabrück.

Strong technology + innovation: In almost every German car there is a piece of the district of Osnabrück - or more precisely special steel from Georgsmarienhütte. The region's mechanical and plant engineering sector is in the Top 30 in the EU. The large number of cooperative projects confirm the extent to which metal, machine and plant construction as well as process technology can successfully profit from the latest know-how. The Weser-Ems region is particularly important in the agricultural technology area.